“No,” Nate said.
Ramsey smiled, the edge of his lips curling smugly in a way that should’ve been unappealing but instead was just wildly hot.
“You’re insane,” Nate added.
“Heard that before.”
“You ever believe it?”
Ramsey shot him a look. “Nathaniel, I knew it was true before anyone ever told me.”
Of course he did.
The blue Tesla sedan pulled up, and ten minutes later, they were climbing out in front of the Wild Leopard. It was upscale, at least, no neon outside and a classy vertical sign on the edge of the brick building, lit dimly, the gold edges shining in the darkness.
At least it didn’t seem like Jordan’s trouble had followed him outside, and there were no visible cops.
The bouncer at the door must have recognized him, because he didn’t say anything, just gestured them inside.
It took a second for Nate’s eyes to adjust to the dim light inside, but the moment they did, he began scanning the different booths and the stages for Jordan.
“What does he look like?” Ramsey asked, and he’d shifted closer. So close they were pressed together.
“Tall. Gangly. Dark hair. Brown skin. Cocky as hell.”
Ramsey nodded absently.
Then Nate spotted him over by the farthest stage, lounging on one of the big leather chairs, a cluster of half-naked strippersaround him, all laughing at something he was saying. His hands waved animatedly in the air, and he was smiling.
“Strange,” Ramsey said coolly after Nate pointed him out and they started to head over. “He doesn’tseemto be in danger.”
There were no cops. No bouncers. No clear or obvious red flags of any kind. Just Jordan Atkinson hanging out at the strip club, with the easy confidence of a guy who dropped enough money here he knew he’d be welcomed with open arms, no matter what the fuck he did.
Nate saw red. Tried to breathe in and breathe out as they finished walking over, hoping to give himself some perspective and also give Jordan the benefit of the doubt. But it was hard.
It was especially hard when they finally walked up to Jordan, and he looked over at them, surprised.
“Oh, shit, you came,” Jordan said.
“I came,” Nate said flatly.
The circle of strippers around Jordan shifted and that must have been the first moment he caught a glimpse of Ramsey next to Nate, because his jaw dropped open a little.
Nate always wondered if Ramsey was used to that kind of attention, or if youcouldget used to causing a stir wherever you went.
“Holy shit, youwereon a date,” Jordan said.
“I was. Iam,” Nate said flatly. He’d been annoyed, sure, but more worried. Now he was just pissed. What was Jordan’sproblem?
“And withhim.”Jordan looked wowed, and that should’ve been a sop for Nate’s ego—even if it wasn’t a legit date—but all Nate felt was something like rage, because he’d obviously dragged him here and nothing was really wrong.
“What’s the deal?” Nate demanded. “You wanted me to come here, so here I am. What’s wrong?”
There was a flash of panic on Jordan’s face, but it was gone so fast, replaced by that smug overconfidence, Nate wondered if he’d seen it at all.
“Who said anything was wrong?”
“You did, you idiot,” Nate ground out.
